Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes

by Ella Fitzgerald

Overview

Hidden away for decades, the 2020 Ella Fitzgerald archival release Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes showcases the singer in an ebullient live performance in Germany in 1962. The concert was recorded on March 25, 1962, in Berlin's Sportpalast Arena, two years after her classic 1960 concert albums Mack the Knife: Ella in Berlin and Ella Returns to Berlin. The main reason for the tapes to have gone unheard for so long was primarily due to Fitzgerald's manager and Verve label owner Norman Granz having left the label by the time they were recorded. Subsequently, they ended up languishing in Granz's private archive for over 50 years. As on her other Berlin concert albums, Fitzgerald is joined here by her trio with pianist Paul Smith, bassist Wilfred Middlebrooks, and drummer Stan Levey. The original Ella in Berlin concert was made famous by Fitzgerald's rendition of "Mack the Knife," in which she forgot the lyrics and deftly improvised her own to uproarious effect -- something she was known to do periodically throughout her career. On the Lost Berlin Tapes, Fitzgerald again tackles the Threepenny Opera standard, diving into the song with her characteristically diamond-tipped vocal prowess. Performed at a briskly swinging pace and punctuated by a humorous aside to the earlier Bobby Darin and Louis Armstrong versions, this "Mack the Knife" is fairly definitive, besting both the Ella in Berlin and Ella Returns to Berlin versions in sheer virtuosity. Equally thrilling performances follow, including rousing takes on "My Kind of Boy," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Taking a Chance on Love," "Mr. Paganini," and more. While the focus of any Fitzgerald concert is her voice, her trio supplies enthusiastic and nuanced support throughout with Smith offering a small jazz ensemble's worth of riffs to frame her vocals. With the discovery of Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes, fans now have a triumvirate of stellar live German concerts from Fitzgerald, each one showcasing just how immensely dazzling and quick-witted she could be. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	10/02/2020
Label:	Verve
UPC:	0602507450137
Rank:	30492

Tracks

1. Cheek to Cheek
2. My Kind of Boy
3. Cry Me a River
4. I Won't Dance
5. Someone to Watch Over Me
6. Jersey Bounce
7. Angel Eyes
8. Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!
9. Taking a Chance on Love
10. C'est Magnifique
11. Good Morning Heartache
12. Hallelujah, I Love Him So
13. Hallelujah I Love Him So (Reprise) [Live]
14. Summertime
15. Mr. Paganini
16. Mack the Knife
17. Wee Baby Blues

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ella Fitzgerald   Primary Artist,Vocals
Paul Smith   Piano
Wilfred Middlebrooks   Bass
Stan Levey   Drums

Technical Credits

Bruce McDonald   Composer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Bertolt Brecht   Composer
Arthur Hamilton   Composer
Earl K. Brent   Composer
Tom Arndt   Release Coordinator,Production Coordination
Vartan Kurjian   Creative Director
Dan Ichimoto   Package Design
Eric Neuser   Release Coordinator,Production Coordination
Perry Cunningham   Transfer Engineer
Robert Bruce Wright   Composer
Edward Johnson   Composer
Mildred Maxim Bradshaw   Composer
Natalie Weber   A&R
Otto Harbach   Composer
Dan Fisher   Composer
Kurt Weill   Composer
Ted Fetter   Composer
Ken Druker   Producer
Jimmy McHugh   Composer
Bobby Plater   Composer
Marc Blitzstein   Composer
Dorothy Fields   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Ervin Drake   Composer
Ray Charles   Composer
Kevin Reeves   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Billy Rose   Composer
Vernon Duke   Composer
Irene Higginbotham   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Cole Porter   Composer
Gregg Field   Mixing,Producer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
DuBose Heyward   Composer
Joe Turner   Composer
Joseph Meyer   Composer
Leslie Bricusse   Composer
Sam Coslow   Composer
Pete Johnson   Composer
Matt Dennis   Composer
John Latouche   Composer